The 600 Pound Mom on TLC

Did anyone watch it last night? I found it interesting that her doctor contributed her weight gain to the fact that she only ate one meal a day. I had always thought it was just calories in, calories out that mattered. Could eating once a day really have that much impact on your metabolic rate? The doctor calculated the woman to be eating only around 2,000 calories a day. Surely that many calories couldn't lead you to become 400+ lbs overweight?

I also wasn't able to watch the end so I was hoping someone could fill me in on how it ended and if she was able to lose the weight.

i watched it. the thing that kept striking me between the eyes was "child abuse."

at the end she'd lost a few pounds, but not enough to qualify for the surgery. she kept cheating. at one point she got so mad at her daughters for not bringing her fried foods that she called the police and asked them to kick the kids out of the house (they wouldn't. good thing, huh? she'd have really been in trouble then).

Calories in and calories out is correct but my trainer tells me if your metabolism doesn't work you don't burn any calories at rest. It's my understanding that without a working metabolism your bmr is next to nothing and eating small meals throughout the day keeps it fueled.

What about the fact the woman admitted to eating 3 double cheese burgers a day and doesn't think food is making her fatter?

Calories in and calories out is correct but my trainer tells me if your metabolism doesn't work you don't burn any calories at rest. It's my understanding that without a working metabolism your bmr is next to nothing and eating small meals throughout the day keeps it fueled.

Calories in and calories out is correct but my trainer tells me if your metabolism doesn't work you don't burn any calories at rest. It's my understanding that without a working metabolism your bmr is next to nothing and eating small meals throughout the day keeps it fueled.

THIS^ ...And, what's really wrong with that woman is emotionally/mentally related. Gastric Bypass surgery is not the answer for that issue. As a matter of fact, it would probably make it worse. I have worked with lots of morbidly obese people trying to qualify for GB surgery. The problems they are dealing with rarely, if ever, are based solely on consumption.

Calories in and calories out is correct but my trainer tells me if your metabolism doesn't work you don't burn any calories at rest. It's my understanding that without a working metabolism your bmr is next to nothing and eating small meals throughout the day keeps it fueled.

THIS^ ...And, what's really wrong with that woman is emotionally/mentally related. Gastric Bypass surgery is not the answer for that issue. As a matter of fact, it would probably make it worse. I have worked with lots of morbidly obese people trying to qualify for GB surgery. The problems they are dealing with rarely, if ever, are based solely on consumption.

By consumption, you mean calorie consumption correct? If their problems aren't based on that, what are they based on? This sounds like an accusing question but I really don't mean it to be. I'm just curious is all.

For practical reasons, I don't think that anyone trying to lose weight should only eat one meal a day, because

You will be so hungry that you will pig out at your one meal

It does slow down your metabolism a bit

It will mess with your blood sugar and you won't have the energy you need to live an active healthy life

That being said, I disagree with what the doctor calculated as her eating just 2000 calories a day. If you are short and inactive, 2000 cal/day might cause you to be overweight...but not that overweight.

I didn't see the program, but it sounds like the kind of show that is precisely why I stopped watching TV in the first place. The producers might tell themselves that the show is to help her and others and "raise awareness" and all that, but in the end, isn't it really just a sideshow mentality? We all feel better about ourselves if we see the 'freaks' out there and say "At least, I'm not that bad."

That being said, I disagree with what the doctor calculated as her eating just 2000 calories a day. If you are short and inactive, 2000 cal/day might cause you to be overweight...but not that overweight.

she wasn't just "inactive." she'd been bedbound for a couple of years. i think she was 5'3".

I didn't see the program, but it sounds like the kind of show that is precisely why I stopped watching TV in the first place. The producers might tell themselves that the show is to help her and others and "raise awareness" and all that, but in the end, isn't it really just a sideshow mentality? We all feel better about ourselves if we see the 'freaks' out there and say "At least, I'm not that bad."

I didn't mean to get preachy...sorry. :-/

Exactly. When I was at home over Xmas, they showed 'Fattest man in the UK' or something along these lines. The guy was maybe, 60 stone and had been bed bound for a number of years. Not only was it a freak show, but it was miserable to watch. This chap was virtually suicidal at some points, at least he got a gastric band and had lost a lot of weight by the end of the show.

But still, i'm not sure why people love watching this stuff so much. Just to feel better about themselves?

When the Doc read the food log, it sounded nothing like the pictures of her "dining". I think they lied on the logs. Couldn't picture her eating that little.

I don't think she had a problem getting food even without the girls there `cuz she kept the phone where she could reach it. Just phone in that fried shrimp and rice...yum. Delivery.

She was eating from that big roasting pan sized container refiiling her styrofoam clamshell...good lord! I think the one meal prolly went on for hours..lol

again, the reported intake at the one meal struck me as very sketchy...she may have eaten that little a couple times, but her withdrawal symptoms when the kids cut her off showed what happens when she doesn't get her fast food. She was being satisfied before.

I don't understand how people afford that much fast food in the first place, I know I couldn't.